Comprehensive evaluation of Satellite-Based and reanalysis precipitation products over the Mediterranean region in Turkey

Precipitation is an important component of the hydrological and energy cycles, as well as a key input parameter for many applications in the fields of hydrology, climatology, meteorology, and weather forecasting research. As a result, estimating precipitation accurately is critical. The purpose of this research is to conduct a comprehensive and comparative evaluation of grid-based precipitation products over Turkey's Mediterranean region from 2017 to 2021 at monthly and grid scales, using data from 193 ground-based meteorological stations as a reference. PERCIANN CCS, PDIR-Now, GSMaP MVK, PERSIANN CDR, CHIRPS, IMERG v6, GSMaP Gauge, and ERA5 are the eight grid-based precipitation products. Several prospective were used to evaluate the products, including magnitude agreement with gauge stations for the entire region and the six hydrological sub-basins included in the region, performance in capturing various intensity categories, and elevation dependency. According to the evaluation results, PERCIANN CDR, CHIRPS, IMERG v6, GSMaP Gauge, and ERA5 performed well in all evaluation aspects, whereas PERCIANN CCS, PDIR-Now, and GSMaP MVK performed poorly in all metrics. The majority of the products underestimated heavy rainfall events, while all products performed better at low and moderate precipitation events. As a result, the products performed better in the summer and spring months (March to October) than in the winter months (December to February). Furthermore, the results showed that the performance of the majority of the products degraded for elevations greater than 1000 m. The evaluation suggests that PERSIANN CDR, CHIRPS, IMERG v6, GSMaP Gauge, and ERA5 can be used as good precipitation data sources and as a complement to ground-based meteorological stations in Turkey's Mediterranean region.